Squam Lakes Natural Science Center

September 6, 2011 By

On a recent family trip to the New Hampshire lakes region, we spent a blissful morning at the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center in Holderness, New Hampshire.

The science center is made up of a network of trails dotted with animal exhibits ranging from insects and birds to mountain lions and even a black bear. For the younger crowd, the highlight of the morning was the Gordon Children’s Center, an interactive (and indoors!) playspace with slides, tunnels, and games, all focused on the animals and habitats on display at the science center. The staff also offer fun, informal animal shows every hour between 11am and 3pm.

Squam Lakes Natural Science Center also offers lake cruises on Big Squam Lake, and summer camps for kids as young as four years old. Overall, this is a fun, educational way to get off the lake for a morning or afternoon with kids of all ages.

Date last visited: August 23, 2011

Distance from the interstate: Approximately 5 miles off 93N.

Hours of operation: Trails are open daily from May 1 to November 1, 9:30–4:30.

Admission: Adults: $15; kids (3¬–15): $10; 2 and under free.

Food services: Picnic! There are picnic tables located in a covered area just inside the ticket office, as well as a grassy area to set out a blanket. There is also food available for purchase at the Kirkwood Café (June through September only).

Website or contact info: www.nhnature.org

Directions: Squam Lakes Natural Science Center is located at 23 Science Center Road, Holderness, New Hampshire. Directions can be found on the website, or on googlemaps.

Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, Dayton Ohio

September 3, 2011 By

The following pit stop is submitted by reader Erica Smith.

The Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, located outside of Dayton, Ohio, includes exhibits on anthropology, astronomy, geology, robotics, and even a zoo! Erica and her family stopped on a recent road trip, and recommends it because it had spaces designed for multiple age groups (she has a one-year-old daughter and a four-year-old son), and exhibits that engage kids physically and intellectually. An added bonus is that the museum is located in a lovely park and wooded area, perfect for a picnic after the museum visit!

Boonshoft Museum

Tip: If time permits, consider a visit to Boonshoft’s sister site, SunWatch Indian Village, also located in Dayton. A national historic landmark, kids can learn about Ohio’s first residents at SunWatch, tour an American Indian village, and even observe archeological digs.

Date last visited: Summer 2011

Distance from the interstate: Just off I-75

Hours of operation: Monday–Saturday 9:00 am-5:00 pm, Sunday noon-5:00 pm.

Admission cost: Adults $8.50; children 2–12 and seniors $7.50; children under 2 are free.

Dining options: None on site; picnic areas available.

Directions: The Boonshoft Museum of Discovery is located just north of downtown Dayton at 2600 DeWeese Parkway. From north of Dayton, take 75 South and take the Wagner Ford exit (exit 57 B). Make a right (north) on N. Dixie, turn left onto Siebenthaler. Then take a left on Ridge Ave., and a right on DeWeese Pkwy. The SunWatch Indian Village is located at 2301 West River Road, Dayton. Take I-75 to exit 51. Go west onto Edwin C. Moses Blvd., which then turns into Nicholas Rd. Cross Dryden Rd./South Broadway St., then turn left onto West River Rd. for 1 mile, dead-ends at SunWatch.

Amelia Park Children’s Museum (Westfield Children’s Museum)

August 16, 2011 By

Located right off the Mass Pike (I-90), the Amelia Park Children’s Museum (often called the Westfield Children’s Museum) is perfect for families looking for a place to let little ones run wild for an hour or two. The museum is made up of one long room with smaller stations along the edges, such as a pretend bank and grocery store, a collection of Little People toys, and a stage with costumes, a disco ball, and a microphone for the more theatrically inclined. Adjacent to this room is a large play area with Nurf air guns, a rocket ship, and a twisty slide. The layout of this museum is great, especially for those of us with the toddler/baby set, because it’s so easy to keep track of two kids (from a central vantage point, you can see just about the whole museum).

westfield-children's-museum

If you’re staying in the area for a while, especially in winter when the weather can get in the way of outdoor activities, it might be worth buying a year membership. The price of admission on your first day is subtracted from the membership fee, meaning that for another $20 or so, you can come and go as you please for the rest of your visit.

Date last visited: July 29, 2011

Distance from the interstate: One mile from I-90.

Hours of operation: Monday: 10-4, Tuesday/Wednesday: closed, Thursday: 10-4, Friday: 10-4,
Saturday: 10-7, Sunday 10-4

Admission prices: $7 for anyone over 1 year (free for anyone under a year). They also have discounts for students, teachers, and senior citizens.

Food services: Technically, you aren’t allowed to bring food into museum, and there’s nowhere to buy food when you’re there. However, we’ve certainly had a few snacks inside and haven’t been hassled by staff.

Website and phone: http://www.ameliaparkmuseum.org/ (413) 572-4014

Directions:: The museum is located at 29 South Broad St., Westfield, MA. The Amelia Park complex includes an ice arena and a Boys and Girls Club. Drive through the complex and the museum is located at the back.

Bend’s High Desert Museum

August 7, 2011 By

Located on Highway 97 just outside Bend, Oregon and minutes away from the all-seasons resort of Sunriver, the High Desert Museum makes for an ideal pit stop en route through Central Oregon or a great half-day activity while vacationing in this family vacation hot spot.

high-desert-museum

With indoor and outdoor exhibits, wildlife shows, and walking paths, families can easily spend most of a day here. (If you pack a lunch, there’s ample picnic space.) We love the river otter habitat (I could watch those playful animals swim for hours!), the living history features, and Raptors of the Desert Sky show. Indoors, historical exhibits take visitors through central Oregon history with covered wagon displays, descriptions of life on the Oregon Trail, Native American dwellings, and lessons in area volcanic activity. Basically, there’s something for everyone here, and the museum does a wonderful job illustrating the diversity of stories Central Oregon has to tell.

Note: If you’re visiting during the summer months, a stop at nearby Lava Beds National Monument is a must. Kids can see exactly how lava shapes the landscape, hike a cinder cone, and brave a cave. Closed during winter months!

Distance from the interstate: Right off Highway 97

Date last visited: January 2010

Admission costs: Summer: $15 for adults, $9 for children (under 4 free). Winter: $10 for adults, $6 for children (under 4 free).

Hours of operation: Summer: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily ( May 1 through October 31). Winter: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily (November 1 through April 30). Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.

Food services: The Rimrock Cafe offers family fare in the form of sandwiches, soups, and wraps. It’s open 10 am to 4 pm in summer, and has plenty of seating. Families can also picnic outdoors.

Directions: The museum is located at 59800 Highway 97, 16 miles south of Bend.

 

 

The New England Aquarium and Boston Children’s Museum

July 2, 2011 By

Both The New England Aquarium and the Boston Children’s Museum are perfect half-day activities, especially if the day in question is as cold and rainy as ours was! We decided to spend one afternoon at each, and could have easily spent more time!

rays and sharks

My nephew and niece joined us for our time in Boston, so we had kids aged 8 months to 12 years touring both attractions. We loved the aquarium because it was comprehensive without being overwhelmingly large; only a few signature exhibits dominated, allowing plenty of time to explore the additional dozens of smaller tanks and displays. The aquarium is famous for their penguin habitat, but the highlight for our family was the hands-on sting ray and shark petting tank. This feature gets crowded, but the staff does a good job of monitoring the number of visitors at any one time; all our kids got plenty of chances to touch the marine animals.

At the Boston Children’s Museum, kids enter to see a three-story rope and plank climbing structure twisting its way toward the ceiling, and from there, they hit the ground running. In addition to the New Balance Climb, our older kids spent the most time at the Kid Power exhibits (aimed at kids age 8-12) where they played games of dodgeball on a computer-powered light-up floor, lifted themselves upward by their own power on pulleys and levers, played basketball on funky courts, and challenged themselves on climbing walls.

childrens-museum

The younger members of our group (8 months old, two years old, and five years old respectively) loved the Construction Zone with working mechanisms, building toys, and structural bridges, the community area complete with corner market and barber shop, and the infant play space.

Tip: If you have fair weather, you may want to pair the aquarium with a whale watch (which departs right from the entrance)!

Hours: The aquarium is open 9 am to 5 pm, and the museum is open 10 am to 5 pm, weekdays. On Friday evenings, the museum offers extended hours and discounted prices, and is only $1 from 6 pm to 9 pm!

Admission: Admission to the aquarium is $22 for adults and $15 for kids. The children’s museum is $12 per person (adults and children). If you hold a children’s museum membership card to any museum, be sure to present it! We were given free admission for two adults and two children thanks to our ScienceWorks card from Oregon. Both attractions are also available for discount through Smart Destinations’ using their Go Card USA: Discount Attraction Passes, or with CityPASS (see below for a deal).

Save up to 43% on Boston’s 5 best attractions with CityPASS. Shop Now!

Websites: www.neaq.com and www.bostonchildrensmuseum.org

Directions: The aquarium and children’s museum are located within blocks of one another, on opposite sides of the bay. The aquarium is located at 1 Central Wharf (there’s an easy T stop directly to its door), and the children’s museum is located at 308 Congress Street (right over the Congress Street or Seaport Blvd. bridges).



New York’s Adirondack Museum

June 9, 2011 By

The Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake, New York makes for a great half or full day pit stop during your Adirondack summer family vacation! Dedicated to families with young kids through teens, the museum features indoor and outdoor exhibits, nature studies, and family programs filled with hands-on experiences.

It seems like there’s always something going on at the museum, whether it’s time to feed the fish, play in the log cabins, or explore the schoolhouse. Visitors learn about the outdoor recreation traditions for which the area is famous (such as boating and horseback riding) as well as the history and natural elements of the region.

Pit Stops for Kids was recently alerted to some new programs scheduled for this summer at the Adirondack Museum: their newest event, “Familypalooza”, is scheduled for July 9th, and will include a bounce house, music show by Radio Disney, kayaking and paddling demonstrations on the museum’s pond, costumed animal characters, tasty food, face painting and much more!

Also new in 2011, parents and children can spend the night at the museum! “Camp Out for Families: Overnights at the Adirondack Museum” are scheduled for July 7th and August 16th. In collaboration with the Adirondack Lakes
Center for the Arts, Blue Mountain Lake, N.Y., visitors will explore exhibits by lantern, get dramatic about Adirondack history, hear songs and stories by the campfire, and have a sleepover in the Woods & Waters exhibit.
For more information visit www.adirondackmuseum.org.

Distance from the interstate: 45 minutes from I-87.

Hours of operation: Open daily May 27th-Oct. 17th (including holidays) from 10 am-5 pm.

Admission rates: Adults: $18, Teens (13-17): $12, Children (6-12): $6, Under five: free. (We love that all museum admission are valid for a second visit within a one week period!)

Food services: The Lakeview Cafe is open daily from 10 am to 4 pm, with salads, sandwiches, wraps, and soups.

Website: www.adkmuseum.org

Directions: The Adirondack Museum is located on Route 28N and 30, just a short drive from Lake George, Glens Falls, Saratoga Springs, Utica, Old Forge, Lake Placid, and Plattsburgh–close enough for an easy day trip. Full directions from these locations can be found here.

Oregon Museum of Science and Industry

September 14, 2010 By

The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, or OMSI for short, is both a landmark and beloved institution in Portland, Oregon. Situated right on the bank of the Willamette directly across from the downtown district, OMSI is one of the best places (and arguably the best place) to take kids in the area.

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Nate and his friend Jonah get a lesson in the Physics Lab.

With multiple exhibits (including Turbine Hall, Life Hall, Earth Hall, and Science Playground in addition to guest exhibits, an IMAX and a planetarium) for all ages, staffed science labs where kids don safety goggles and roll up their sleeves, stunning displays (the beginning of life display is particularly moving) and fun experiences (try the earthquake house), you can easily spend a day here. There’s also a working submarine to tour, a toddler and preschool area (with changing displays), and an entire hall of brain teasers that kept our grade schoolers busy for over an hour!

Tip: If you’re visiting from anywhere in the Northwest and have a membership at your local children’s museum or science museum, stop by the membership desk prior to paying admission and see if your membership can be applied toward free admission to OMSI. It did in our case! Even if you don’t have your membership card with you, the desk personnel are happy to call your local museum and verify your membership that way.

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Nate gets an astronaut’s perspective.

Date last visited: August 2010

Distance off the interstate: Five-ten minutes off either the I-5 or I-405 into downtown Portland.

Hours: Daily 9:30 a.m.—7:00 p.m. (until September 6). Fall hours:  Tuesday-Sunday, 9:30 a.m.—5:30 p.m. (starting September 7).

Admission: $12 for adults, $9 for kids. IMAX, planetarium, and submarine are extra costs (see website for pricing). Combo packs are the way to go if you plan to do extra things!

Food Services: Inside the museum is both the OMSI Cafe and Galileo’s. There’s also a sack lunch area.

Website: www.omsi.edu

Directions: From I-5 or the 405, take Naito Parkway (downtown) to the Hawthorne Bridge. Cross the river onto Hawthorne Ave, and turn right onto Water Ave.

Submarine Force Museum

August 17, 2010 By

1 Crystal Lake Road
Groton, CT

Submarine Force Museum (photo courtesy of Mystic Country)

This stop was submitted by Karin Burgess of Mystic Country. Thank you, Karin, for your support of Pit Stops for Kids!

Planning a family vacation that takes you through Connecticut or just driving down I-95? You’ll want to stop in the submarine capitol of the world and tour the FREE Submarine Force Museum to give your kids an up-close and personal view of our rich naval history. Located on the Thames River, the museum sits next to the actual US Naval Submarine Base and across the river from the Coast Guard Academy, and features a real and formerly operational nuclear submarine. Says Karin of Mystic Country: “Every kid I know who has gone thinks this is a cool site to see!”

Submarines are also built built here along this river, and if you’re lucky you might see a sub coming in or going on a tour of duty (sightings are rare but exciting as there are no schedules for these for security reasons). Read more about this museum: http://seemysticcountryct.com/family-fun/our-rich-nautical-history-comes-alive-at-the-submarine-force-museum.html

Distance off the interstate: Right off I-95 north or south in Groton, Connecticut.

Admission: Free!

Tip: Not open on Tuesdays.

Hours: 9 am-5 pm (summer hours) Call 800.343.0079 for up-to-date hours for other seasons.

Food Services: There are limited vending services on-site. In the summer of 2009, the museum opened their “90 North Cafe at the north end of the parking lot. It’s open for food seasonally, but you can bring your own picnic lunch and enjoy their picnic area on the Thames River.

Website: http://www.ussnautilus.org

Directions: Off I-95 exit 86 N or S in Groton, CT.
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Western Pacific Railroad Museum

July 20, 2010 By

Reviewer’s family at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum.

700 Western Pacific Way
Portola, CA

This pit stop submitted by fellow mom and Pit Stops for Kids reader Vanessa. Visit Vanessa’s photography site, Second Spring.

If you should find yourself somewhere between Reno, NV and Chico, CA along Hwy 70 you will pass through the little town of Portola, CA. There you will find this little gem of a pit stop, The Western Pacific Railroad Museum. One of the best things about this museum is that they not only allow you to climb, crawl and explore the trains but encourage it…a fantastic way to expend a little pent up energy if you ask me! There are volunteer docents on hand should you have questions about any of the equipment. This part is not only a hit with the kids but the parents as well (I could have spent HOURS snapping the shutter on my camera around the rail yard had we not needed to stop for nap time!). The train ride is fun for the little kids- and you can sit either inside one of the caboose cars or outside. Our little guy jumped at the sound of the whistle but was thrilled to get to be on the train.

If you have a train lover in the family they rent out a caboose for parties and events (I am thinking birthday party for my little guy) and during the holiday season they deck out the caboose train in twinkle lights and get a visit from Santa. With a little planning ahead (since reservations are needed) you can even drive one of the diesel engines. Check the calendar on the website for more events.

Exploring the trains!

Date last visited: May 30th, 2010

Distance off the interstate: Just over half a mile off CA Hwy 70. (Approximately 50 minutes from Reno or 1.5 hours from Tahoe.)

Admission Prices: Museum is free (though donations are appreciated) and $5 to ride the train that run on the weekends from Memorial Day to Labor Day (they also do special events like the Santa Train during the holiday season- see the Calendar page for more details).

Hours of Operation: 10am to 5pm

Food Services: Cold drinks and snacks available in the gift shop (and the Portola Frosty is a favorite stop for those hot summer days- just off Hwy 70 heading west from Gulling St.).

Bathrooms: Just down the hall from the gift shop in the museum.

Website: http://www.wplives.org/

Directions: From Hwy 70, take Gulling Street into the town of Portola, turn right on Commercial, a slight left onto Pacific and then a right onto Western Pacific Way. There are signs to lead you along the way.

A Pit Stop a Day (Day 3): Mobius Kids Museum

June 27, 2010 By

Indoor fun at Mobius Kids!

808 W. Main
(Riverfront Square Lower Level)
Spokane, WA

Day 3 found us spending the day among friends in Spokane, WA for the city’s annual Hoopfest basketball tournament. The kids and I temporarily escaped the crowds and heat at Mobius Kids, an expansive children’s museum right in the heart of downtown.

Mobius Kids is great for all ages with exhibits including a play city, a construction zone, a Globe theater, and a science lab. Having lived in Spokane several years ago, I can vouch for its growth: not long ago, this museum was a shadow of what it has become. Their “Enchanted Forest” section is perfect for the younger set, and my school-aged kids could have spent all day in the art studio.

If you live in the Northwest, be sure to check to see if any of your local children’s museum memberships qualify you for discounted admission. Ours did!

Extra Tip! If the weather is nice, go from the museum through the back entrance of River Park Square to Riverfront Park, a wonderful city greenbelt with duck ponds, a sky rail, outdoor ice skating (winter) and fun-zone carnival rides (summer).

Date last visited: June 2010.

Distance off the interstate: Five minutes off I-90.

Hours:

Mon-Sat: 10am-5pm
Sun: 11am-5pm

Admission Prices:

General Admission: $5.75
12 months & younger: Free

Food Services: Many options are at your disposal in the River Park Square complex, including Panda Express, Cruisers burgers, Ben & Jerry’s, and Pizza Rita.

Bathrooms: Located on-site, and on the lower level of River Park Square near the Sawtooth Grill.

Directions: From I-90, take exit 280B to merge onto S Lincoln St. After half a mile, turn right at W Main Ave. The easiest place to park is in the underground parking garage.

Up next: We drive from Washington to Montana and The Many Glacier Hotel in Glacier National Park! Note: Glacier is an ‘unplugged’ destination, so expect a three-day delay in our A Pit Stop a Day series!

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